2021 Top College Acceptances

Top Private School Celebrates Seniors’ College Acceptances to Elite Universities 

American Heritage Schools is a leading college preparatory school with the highest number of National Merit Scholars of all private schools in Florida and #2 the nation; our students receive acceptances to the nation’s finest colleges and universities each year.

This year is no exception.

"We’re really proud that, despite the challenges of Covid-19, there was no evidence of diminished learning; this is due to the excellence of our teachers and the perseverance of our students,” said Dr. Douglas Laurie, President of American Heritage Schools.

According to a report by CNBC, the pandemic has made it harder for high school graduates to get into a top college. An example, Harvard University’s early action acceptance rate fell to 7.4% from 13.9%, while the number of total applicants rose to a record high. This proved the same at other selective schools, such as Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College. Data from the Common App college application organization indicates applications to large, prestigious universities skyrocketed in the 2020-21 school year. 

Yet seniors at American Heritage can rejoice in their success as they hold acceptance letters from the Ivy Leagues and many other selective colleges and universities.

“This year students needed to prepare differently because schools held their interviews online,” explained Dr. Gabriela Zaviezo, a graduate of Brown (undergraduate), Columbia (graduate), and University of Miami (doctorate), and currently an AHS teacher and interview coach for students applying to selective colleges as well as for scholarships. "Having a connection with someone and relating your passion through a device is a completely different experience, so students' stories and narratives about who they are were essential in capturing the attention of their interviewer,” she added.

American Heritage students are dedicated, high achieving, and passionate about creating a better world and putting their academic, artistic, and altruistic endeavors to good use. Alumnus Mateus Falci, AHS ’10, Harvard ’14, attributes his success to the time he spent as a student at AHS, “I owe so much to American Heritage since the teachers and staff there started me on the path of learning and growing as an individual both at Harvard and in the next stages of my adult life.”

Angelin Mathew is a senior at American Heritage Schools’ Broward campus and will be attending Yale University in the fall pursuing a double major in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Ethnicity & Migration. She reflects on how her experience at American Heritage shaped her future, “I've been able to do research, Model United Nations, and activism throughout the past four years at American Heritage with access to college-level lab facilities, dedicated mentors, and international competitions. These experiences molded me to be more confident and helped me figure out what kind of impact I want to make on the world.”

Albert Lu is also graduating from the Broward campus of American Heritage Schools and will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed the AHS Computer Science program, which inspired him to become a software engineer, and acquired valuable skills in high school. “As someone who juggled 17 AP classes and multiple extracurriculars, I learned time management is the key to managing the course load and to succeeding at MIT and beyond,” Albert said.

Heading to Harvard in the fall, Gabriel Sun, AHS graduate from the Palm Beach campus, will major in Applied Mathematics and pursue a career at the intersection of tech and business. “American Heritage has prepared me for both my future studies at Harvard and my life beyond college by strengthening my leadership skills,” Gabriel said. “Through exploring the wide variety of academic and extracurricular opportunities at American Heritage, I’ve become a better problem-solver and teammate, while also growing my desire to effect positive change in society.” 

The rigorous curriculum and access to high-level resources at American Heritage Schools continue to prove successful year after year as the capabilities of our students keep expanding and their goals are shaped for the future.

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